A Home at the End of the Street
by Kal-El Fornia
Summary: A slice of life about three kids growing up in the city that they love. As Daisuke, Takeru, and Hikari float on in their lives, together they learn about the nuances of young love and the ever-changing nature of family. We expect conflict, resolution, an ending happy or sad, but what we get is mostly life, muddling through.
1. A Beginning

So, I've been wanting to do this for a while. This story is a spin-off of another one of mine called _**A Home at the End of** **Japan**_, but this is a stand alone story. It is set in the same 'verse as the other story, but it shows completely different characters, so you don't have to read that one in order to get what's going on in this one.

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon.

* * *

Flicking the butt of his cigarette, Daisuke watched as the tiny light from the flame of what was left of said cigarette fell stories down the balcony of the Yagami's apartment. It was strange for him to be standing out there with Takeru out in the cold, since they were still all getting used to using the balcony now that Taichi was gone and now that Yamato didn't really go out there anymore, but in the end there was something about the Odaiba city-scape that comforted him.

For better or worse, he enjoyed the view of Odaiba that he got from the balcony where he and Takeru were hanging about in silence. Oddly enough, the view from his own apartment had never seemed so grand, had never shined so bright, but from where he was standing, from where he was breathing in that cold Japanese air, everything seemed right with the world. Perhaps the world wouldn't be right once morning came, or perhaps it wouldn't be right even as soon as one hour later, but at the moment, as he fiddled about his pockets for his half-empty pack of cigarettes, somehow the world was kind of perfect.

He had never considered himself the artistic type, that was honestly something that was much more up Takeru's alley than anything else, but he thought that what he was watching, and feeling of course, was something that belonged on a canvas. He was only sixteen years old, and he hadn't seen much more of the world than Odaiba and its neighboring cities, but as he stood there with the always faithful Takeru who hadn't strayed very far from him ever since they met as children, Daisuke didn't really see much of a reason to travel farther than the outskirts of his city.

"Are you guys done yet?" he heard a female voice call out from behind Takeru and himself after the sound of a glass door opening crinkled through the air.

Standing there all clad in clothing that was just right for how cold it was out in that Japanese night, contrasting so much with only the t-shirts that both he and Takeru had to keep themselves warm with, was Hikari. She smiled at them as they both turned to look at her, but it was that annoyed kind of smile that Hikari got whenever the two of them were doing something that bothered her.

"You know, you can always join me and Takeru. There's nothing that makes smoking better than adding a woman's touch to it."

Daisuke heard Takeru laugh at his little unfunny quip, and he in turn laughed when an annoyed Hikari walked out to the both of them and punched Takeru in the arm. As he watched Takeru yelp out in faux pain, he began to whistle a reminiscent tune that he wasn't quite sure where he remembered it from.

"It's freezing out here," Hikari said to no one in particular, taking note of the little clouds that formed in the cold air from the vapor of her breath. She looked over at the whistling Daisuke, and then back at Takeru who was still smiling at her, and she only sighed in resignation, the boys beating her out again when it came to the three of them doing something.

Without missing a beat, even without the knowledge of where exactly he had heard the happy-go-lucky sounding sing-song tune that Daisuke couldn't help but let out, he pulled out his pack of cigarettes out of his pocket and held it out towards Hikari, offering her one. As he expected, she frowned and he only shrugged as he decided to take a cigarette for himself. He lit it, and he simply quietly listened as Takeru responded Hikari.

"You can go back in if you want."

The three of them had known each other long enough to know that Hikari was going to ignore her better judgment so that she can stand at the side of the two delinquents that had somehow found their lives entwined with hers, just as she always had.

Taking in a long drag of his cigarette, Daisuke turned back towards the city and began to stare out at the shimmering Odaiba once more. Hikari had been silent to what Takeru had offered, and Daisuke felt her settle herself right beside him as she too began to look out at the city that was the only thing that the three of them had ever known.

He wouldn't say it out loud, but he wondered if Hikari was seeing the same thing that he was? When she looked out towards Odaiba did she see a beautiful city with glittering lights like he did? It wasn't a perfect place, Daisuke freely admitted that about Odaiba, but he felt that the flaws of his hometown had always somehow added to its charm.

"It's boring without you guys."

Without another word, Takeru too joined them in musingly watching Odaiba, and somehow, or at least Daisuke thought, he felt that the three of them were all thinking the same thing as they all stared at the flashing lights of the place where they had grown up, stared at all the hustle and bustle of all the different strangers that shared the same home with them.

Blowing smoke out into the air, he saw Takeru do the same out of the corner of his eye. Watching for a bit more than Daisuke thought he should have, he frowned for a moment when he noticed that Takeru was perhaps standing maybe just a bit too close to Hikari than was his liking.

It was just a momentary thought though, and it was enough for him that the three of them were there together, most likely going to stay up much more later than was probably appropriate for a school night.

And so he sat there in silence, right with Takeru and Hikari just as he had for most of his life. The night was cold and fresh, the city lights were twinkling in a way that had always tantalized him, and Daisuke smiled. He was content.

* * *

I felt it was appropriate to start with one of the balcony scenes that some of you might recognize considering whether or not if you're reading the other story as well.

Anyways, the one reason its taken me a long time to post this is the decision on whether or not this whole story should all be told from Daisuke's perspective as this opening chapter was, or whether I should alternate. For example: chapter 2 will be seen from Takeru's eyes, chapter 3 from Hikari's, etc.

Any thoughts?


	2. With a Little Help from My Friends

Fast update, but I've decided to do this from alternating points of views. Not only due to the fact that all of you seem to have wanted it, but because of the fact that even in **_A Home at the End of Japan_ **there are points where I wish I had done the alternating points of view so that I could tell the story from more than just Yamato's perspective. Ah, what's lost is lost. Oh well.

This scene is about Takeru.

Disclaimer: Don't own Digimon.

* * *

Between him and his two closest friends whom he had been with ever since Yamato had dragged him along to the Yagami household because his older brother had wanted to hang out with Taichi and Jun, nobody had ever been quite sure where it was exactly that Takeru stood, not even himself. He knew that some people had thought of him as the charming and harmless delinquent who couldn't help but get himself into trouble right alongside the Motomiya boy who was always in some sort of fuss or another, and yet at the same time he knew that others, like Fujiyama-Sensei who had asked him to stay after class, thought that he had the same kind of potential as ace student council member Yagami Hikari.

To people who had known them throughout the years through school or the different locales of Odaiba that they frequented, the three of them being together was something that was expected and not given any sort of second mind to, but Takeru knew that the relationship between himself and his two lifelong companions had always been looked at strangely from people who were only acquaintances. It was a source of humor between Daisuke and himself about the fact that a lot of the more straight-laced members of the Odaiba High student body, especially the student council, thought that the two of them hanging around Hikari may have been dangerous for her and that perhaps they were a bad influence on her.

It was another in-joke between them concerning the rumor that Hikari had a thing for bad boys and that was the reason that she seemed to always drift to their side whenever she could. Probably the most hilarious thing to have happened, something which Takeru didn't even get angry about much to Hikari's annoyance, was when the student council president, one Inoue Miyako, had introduced Hikari to an "appropriate" boy to date in order to get her away from Daisuke and himself. She would later complain to him about the fact that if some random guy made moves on her that he should have been angry and ready to fight, even though at the same time she stressed the fact that she would also be miffed if her ever tried fighting someone because of her, but Takeru had thought of the incident as too damn funny to do anything about other than laugh.

"Are you paying attention to me, Ishida-san?"

Fujiyama-Sensei had broken him out of his memories, and Takeru looked over at him once he realized that he had drifted off and had began to stare out the window. Truthfully he felt bad, because although some circles thought of him as a delinquent, he actually liked Fujiyama-Sensei and didn't want to disrespect the man. However, he didn't want to listen to another lecture either. He got enough of that at home whenever Yagami-san felt the need to pressure him to go to college, and to tell him to not to worry about the finances of it since Taichi had decided to skip out on higher education.

"I'm sorry, Fujiyama-Sensei. I'm tired right now."

"From what?" the man replied sternly and forcefully, not wanting to fail the young teenager in the same way that he still perceived himself to have failed Yamato. He had been too much of a friend to the older Ishida back when he was in high school, and because he hadn't pushed hard enough, Yamato wasn't making anything of his life.

"Cocaine and prostitutes."

His response was probably a bit too glib in retrospect, although he thought that Daisuke would have been proud had he heard it. He debated whether or not to tell the gang about it later though, considering the fact that Hikari would probably kick him in the shins and force him to apologize to Fujiyama-Sensei with a nice fruit basket.

Surprisingly, the usually reserved yet easy-going Fujiyama-Sensei slammed his fist on the table between them, not amused with Takeru's antics. The boy was one of the most intelligent and well-spoken students in his class and he had a lot of potential, and had even shown as many strokes of brilliance in his class as he had smart-Alec remarks, and Fujiyama-Sensei didn't want him to throw it all away like how he had seen others do the same.

"Be serious with me."

"Alright."

"Where is your brother right now?"

"Probably at Jun's place. That's where he spends most of his time since Taichi left."

"I mean, where is he in life?"

Biting the inside of his mouth, Takeru wasn't quite sure how to answer that. It was something that Yagami-san always complained about, both Taichi and Yamato deciding that college or university wasn't for them, and he already knew where this conversation with Fujiyama-Sensei was headed. It was another one of those 'you have potential' talks that he grown to become sick of, and Takeru stood up from his chair, not wanting to hear it once again.

"Is it okay if I leave, Fujiyama-Sensei?"

He gave the proper bow and waited the appropriate amount of time before he heard Fujiyama-Sensei sigh and give the okay. As he left the classroom and began to walk into the hallway, Daisuke who had been waiting for him right outside the classroom, joined him. They didn't say anything to each other, both remaining silent as they walked the usual route to wait for Hikari as she finished with her student coucil business, and Takeru couldn't help but notice the look that said student council gave to him and Daisuke as the two of them found their way to the classroom where they met. It was a look the student council often sent their direction, and Takeru had always figured that it seemed like some of them never failed to try and come up with some contrived task for Hikari to keep them from hanging out with her.

He had never liked the feeling of being judged, whether it was from fellow students who looked their nose down at him for being a supposed delinquent or the orphan that he was, or even if the judgment came from a teacher who was doing what they thought was best for him. For a second he frowned, but the frown disappeared when he saw one of the girls in the cluster of the student council, one Yagami Hikari, look up at him and smile. As he walked with Daisuke at his side, and as he stared at Hikari who ignored everyone else around her to send an enthusiastic wave his way, Takeru couldn't help but grin. There wasn't very much else that he could ask for.

* * *

One thing to note is that although I do plan for there to be some dark or sobering moments in this story, it will be nothing like what Yamato sees in the main story. Different people, different and lighter shades of seeing the world.

Speaking of which, Hikari will be next chapter.


	3. Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds

When I had originally began writing Hikari's chapter I had had a whole different subject in mind. It was going to deal Hikari and an upcoming school festival, but when I began writing this is what came out instead. Personally, I think I might be pleased with it.

Oh, and to those reading _**A ****Home at the End of Japan**_, it has finally reached 200 reviews! I'll make my proper thanks over there, just wanted to let people reading this and that story to know that it happened.

Kudos to whoever can catch the Watchmen reference.

Disclaimer: Don't own Digimon.

* * *

Even with Takeru at her side, Hikari had never really liked visiting Daisuke's place. It wasn't often that they went, truthfully the only times that they actually traveled to the Motomiya apartment was to either pick up Daisuke or pick up something that he forgot at home, but for the most part, and with good reason, it was somewhere that all of them tried their best to avoid, especially Daisuke.

As the two of them walked passed by a homeless man, she couldn't help but note how Takeru didn't really seem to notice him at all. But she did. She always noticed, whether it was a homeless man or a drug deal going down, Odaiba's red-light district was somewhere where Hikari couldn't help but notice the more tainted part of what she considered an otherwise perfect city, even if it seemed like the norm to the closest people around her.

"You wanna grab some food before we get to Daisuke's?" she heard Takeru's familiar and calming voice say next to her, Hikari being thankful for him.

She said nothing in response, and simply shook her head. She wasn't very hungry at the moment, the squalor of the red-light district taking away most of her appetite. To her, it was a double-edged sword of sorts. On one hand being in a place that could only be described as dirty was something that didn't allow her to comfortably eat something from there, but on the other hand she knew that the people selling food in the district were probably the only ones that were making an honest living there, most of them still being unable to support their families. As Hikari's eyes drifted from the littered sidewalk they were walking on to one of the good amount of food vendors that were selling different items, she wondered if the honesty of their products was the reason that Daisuke had always joked that he would one day own his own noodle cart.

"What do you want to do tonight?" Takeru asked, Hikari noticing how he smiled and waved to a familiar woman, a prostitute that they knew, who was walking on the other side of the street.

She too smiled and waved, but she also grabbed on a bit tighter to Takeru's arm that she had been holding onto for the better part of the night. It was whenever they visited the place where Daisuke lived, and whenever a lady of the night got a decent view at Takeru's boyishly charming good looks, that they were offered all sorts of different kinds of love. They were offered Korean love, Chinese love, and love from girls who still probably hadn't of graduated from grade school yet, but they were never offered Japanese love. Japanese love, Hikari thought, like Coke in green glass bottles...they don't make it anymore.

"How about we go back home and study?"

She didn't have to look at him to know that Takeru frowned at the thought. Personally, she didn't think that going back to her place to study was something that exactly sounded at all like it was fun either, but honestly, home was where she wanted to be at the moment. At home what waited for her was a nice mug of cocoa and kitty-spangled pajamas, not girls young enough that they could be her little sisters turning tricks for men who had darker urges than most.

"I don't think that Daisuke wants to study."

"How about a movie then?"

Takeru, like she had been, was silent. The two of them made a turn into a familiar alley that was a shortcut to where Daisuke lived. At the end of the alley was a fence, and after Takeru gave her a boost to help her get over it, he hopped the fence himself.

He was quiet, but Hikari didn't think much of it. He seemed to be in contemplation, like she often was when walking on the dirty streets of the red-light district or under the shimmering Odaiba sky, two things that were almost perfect juxtapositions of one another. There was a lot of beauty in the world and in the city that was the only place that she would ever call home, but there was a lot of sadness there as well. It was a passing thought, one that would haunt her dreams just as often as she thought they may make those same dreams come true, but Hikari thought that perhaps, just maybe, it was the sadness and darkness of the world, of their precious city, that made all their more happy moments shine so much brighter.

About another block later, she looked over at Takeru's face and saw that he was saluting. Knowing that that meant that Daisuke was waiting for them in front of his apartment, Hikari looked over at him and smiled, but said smile disappeared when she thought of how nonchalant both Takeru and Daisuke had always seemed in the red-light district. She knew that their childhoods, although entwined with hers, had been very different than hers and her brother's. Takeru was grinning, as he often was, but she wondered how he felt walking on the same streets where Hiroaki had been murdered.

"So what's the plan, guys?" Daisuke questioned loudly as they finally made their way to him, Hikari making sure to step over the used condom that was lying in the middle of the sidewalk.

She looked up at all the buildings around them, at the lights that sparkled like diamonds in the sky, and sighed. Would Daisuke and Takeru always be a part of the red-light district?

"Studying."

When she heard Takeru's answer, she looked immediately at the boy whose arm she had been hanging off of all night. She was about to say something in protest, but decided not to when she saw him wink at her. She looked over at Daisuke who seemed to think for a moment, and then he shrugged and began walking, their cue that he had agreed.

As she walked with Takeru right behind Daisuke, as the three of them glittered like diamonds in the sky, she had to rethink something that had come across her mind earlier in the night. Perhaps Japanese love had already been offered to her.

* * *

Good?

Anyways, I've been thinking of this story. Perhaps a name change is needed? I mean I like _**A Home at the End of the Street**_, but I wonder if it 'fits'?

I've been thinking since I've been going the route of naming all these chapters after songs by The Beatles, that maybe the title should be something like that as well? Here are titles I've considered:

-Yellow Submarine

-Across the Universe

-White Album

-Eight Days a Week

-Abbey Road

-A Day in the Life

-In My Life

-All You Need is Love

-Come Together

-From Me to You

-Hello Goodbye

-Here Comes the Sun

Or stick with _**A Home at the End of the Street**_? I'm still unsure.


	4. Good Morning Good Morning

I know that I just updated this yesterday, but I couldn't help but write more. I am really enjoying writing this story, and I don't really want to stop.

For now, I've decided that the current title will remain, but my mind is still flirting with the idea of maybe changing it in the future. I've also decided that perhaps the red-light district may appear more in the story? At least to show things of their past.

Disclaimer: Don't own Digimon.

* * *

It wasn't a smell that he woke up to very often, it wasn't a smell that was native to the red-light district that was sadly the first place he had ever called home, but as Daisuke pushed himself up from the Yagami's couch, school clothes all wrinkled from having slept in them, the smell of a home cooked breakfast was undeniable.

The food honestly didn't smell like anything spectacular, this always being the case when Yagami Yuuko was the one behind the cooking. Still, as he rubbed his eyes, as memories of whatever dream he had in the night fluttered away from him, he was happy to have food ready for him to eat once he woke up in the morning. Had it been the home of anyone else, even his own, Daisuke would have felt as if he had been imposing on them and would have felt uncomfortable eating their food, but the Yagami household was different. Unlike a lot of the world, unlike the red-light district where he and Takeru had learned the harsher truths of life, the Yagamis were wonderful people.

"Are you awake, Daisuke?"

He stood up when he heard the woman in the kitchen call out to him, and he did his best to straighten out his clothing so he didn't look like as much of a mess as he already did. It was something that was only slightly annoying since the only classmates of his whose opinions he cared about were Takeru and Hikari, but he knew his wrinkled uniform and disheveled self would probably lead to rumors about the delinquent Motomiya being homeless.

"Yes! Good morning, Yagami-san!" he called out to her as he rubbed his eyes again, afterward rearranging the pillows on the couch he had slept on so that they would look at least somewhat presentable.

Back in the old days it was something that visitors to the Yagami residence would ask about, why the apartment was always filled with kids or teenagers. Whether it was the older trio of Yamato, Taichi, and Jun, or if it was his own group of Takeru, Hikari, and himself, there were always young people around and about the apartment. To some it seemed odd, especially considering the fact that the two bright-eyed and lovely Yagami children had somehow drifted to red-light rats, but over time the questions stopped, as did the visits from the more haughty of the Yagami acquaintances.

He had never been sure about whether or not to feel guilty about the fact that possibly his presence had maybe caused some hassle to the Yagami family, but somehow, perhaps it was that breakfast that smelled so good even if it oddly didn't smell delicious, but there was a part of Daisuke that told him that the Yagamis would not have wanted things to be any other way.

"Are you hungry? I'm making tofu bacon with vegan approved eggs. You can't taste the difference!"

The food wasn't as glorious as meat, but hey, it was something. At least now Daisuke didn't have to worry about finding a rat in his box of cereal.

"Sounds good. Thank you, Yagami-san."

He stretched and yawned and made his way to the kitchen. Yuuko was humming a happy sounding song, though not one that he could put his finger to where he remembered it from. He peered over at the food she was making, and tweaked his head slightly to the side. The food looked gray.

"Morning!" a voice came from behind the two of them, Daisuke being surprised to see Susumu when he turned around to greet the Yagami patriarch.

"Good morning, Yagami-sama."

Susumu was usually out of the house earlier than the current time, a little after 7:00am, but the man seemed just as surprised to see Daisuke at the moment.

"You spend the night here, Daisuke?"

"Yeah, sorry about that. I crashed on the couch by accident."

After watching the man walk into the kitchen to give his wife a kiss, he saw Susumu turn back his attention towards him and laugh.

"Next time sleep in Yamato and Takeru's room. It might be cramped with the three of you in there as well, but at least you'll have a matress, eh?"

He nodded at the Yagami patriarch, but that was a subject best left for another time. The cramped room wasn't very comfortable, but there were ulterior reasons as to why he didn't think that sharing a room with Takeru for the night would be the best option. Hikari wouldn't like it for one. Considering, well, everything.

"Your parents know that you're here?" Susumu asked as he stretched and yawned and slowly made his way to the dining room table to sit, content that he had a late work day.

Since Yuuko was busy finishing up her cooking, Daisuke rummaged through the cupboards for a mug, and poured a glass of coffee from the coffee pot to serve it to Susumu. The older man thanked him, and Daisuke too sat at the table.

He patted around the different pockets of his uniform, and pulled out the cell phone that Jun had bought him. It was almost dead but thankfully still had a bit of juice left in it, but when he checked it he saw that he only had two missed calls and one voice mail, all from his sister. As he expected, nothing from his parents.

"Nope."

He watched as Susumu opened his mouth to say something, but then the man stopped himself and sighed, taking the next moment to close his eyes and take a sip of his coffee. Yuuko hurried about, setting enough food around the table for six people, and Daisuke looked up and saluted two figures that were walking into the dining area, Takeru and Hikari both emerging from their respective rooms. He couldn't help but laugh when he saw the faces on his two friends when they caught of whiff of Yuuko's cooking.

"Anything good today?" Hikari asked, voice filled with dread despite the fact that she wasn't any better a cook than her mother.

Laughing, this time alongside both Susumu and Yuuko as well, Daisuke picked up a gray stick of crusted mulch that was supposed to be bacon, and took a bite out of it. He answered with complete sincerity.

"It's the most delicious thing I've ever had."

* * *

Originally the chapters of this story were going to be named after Aerosmith songs, but I decided against it when I started listening to my ipod one day, and the song "I'll Follow the Sun" was the first one that popped up.

Also, I've changed the name of the first chapter title. I know it may seem cheap, but I changed it from "Happiness is a Warm Gun" to "A Beginning", which I think I should have named it from the start considering it's the beginning of the story. I will use "Happiness is a Warm Gun" later though.

Man, I love The Beatles.

Anyways, I have two images in mind for when I think of what I want the cover image of this story to be. The first is the trio walking down a street a la the album cover of Abbey Road. The other is the trio running down a steeped road, Daisuke in front having stolen from Takeru, Takeru chasing after him, and Hikari trailing behind them with her schoolbooks clutched to her chest.

If any of you guys know people who draw pretty good, let me know if they're willing to let me commission something?

For now I'm using a picture of three strawberries nailed to a wall. To people who have watched Across the Universe (which is tied with Watchmen and The Dark Knight for being my favorite movie), you'll recognize the strawberries.


	5. She Loves You

Too soon for an update? I was watching an episode of That 70's Show on Netflix, and then I got an idea. Hikari's next chapter is also partially written.

Disclaimer: Digimon is from out East somewhere, not America.

* * *

It was four in the morning as the two of them sat together eating cake, it being much too late to sleep and much too early to try and get ready for school, and Takeru sighed contently as he stuffed some of the vanilla desert into his mouth, Hikari doing the same right beside him.

It took him a moment to notice though, but her sigh, even though it was in almost perfect unison with his, sounded slightly different. His sigh had been happy because Takeru, well, was happy. As he ate another spoonful of cake he felt that although Hikari's sigh sounded maybe just as glad, that there was a tiny moment where he had heard something else, something that he couldn't quite put his finger on.

Out of the corner of his eye he watched her for he wasn't sure how long, enjoying the sight that had always warmed his heart, and he chuckled when he saw her drop a half spoon's worth of cake on his shirt that she was wearing. Daisuke would never catch him saying it, but he thought that it was cute.

"Don't laugh, it's your shirt."

"It looks better on you I think," Takeru began to reply, before pausing for a moment and deciding to poke fun at how they had spent their evening, "or off, as the case may be."

He didn't get the laugh that he had been expecting from her, and frowned when she gave him that annoyed smile of hers that had always bothered him. She would often send that same smile to Daisuke and him whenever they did something she thought was stupid, and Takeru gently nudged her, wondering if maybe something was up with her.

"Are you okay? You seem like you're a million miles away."

"I've been thinking."

"About?"

He turned his head towards her, shoveling a bit more cake into his mouth all the while, and he felt confirmed in his suspicions that something was wrong when he saw Hikari purposely look in the other direction, barely even poking at her dessert.

Thinking for a moment, the thought coming into his mind that perhaps it was time to lighten the mood a bit, Takeru snatched a small amount of cake from Hikari's plate to eat some himself. He thought that maybe she would have laughed at that, but felt something inside of him sink when she finally turned to look back at him, with a face that was almost as serious as Yamato's always was.

"What are we, Takeru?"

Considering setting down his plate of cake, Takeru didn't really know how to answer that. Daisuke, Hikari, and himself had always been best friends, together, and there was something about being there with Hikari, talking about the intimacies of whatever it was that they shared with one another, but there was a feeling that he was having that was telling him that maybe something was missing.

She, like himself, seemed to be holding her breath waiting for him to say something, and after about a minute of silence, and what seemed like a lifetime of contemplation, he finally responded her.

"We're Hikari and Takeru. Just like we've always been."

It was an honest answer, as honest as he could give at the moment, but he couldn't help but feel a twinge of guilt about the face that Hikari made when she heard his answer. He knew that it wasn't what she had wanted to hear, but he refused to lie to her.

"So, just that then?"

She was looking down into her cake, not daring to move her eyes anywhere else. She and Takeru had...done things, and she had always thought that maybe that meant that things between the two of them were a bit more special in secret when it was just the two of them than out in public, out in the cynical world and out where the past could haunt them.

On his end Takeru was doing the same, staring into his dessert. When it came down to it, he wasn't quite sure what it was exactly that Hikari wanted at the end of it all. And even if he found out later, he wasn't sure if he could give it to her. He was an Ishida, the orphan from the red-light district. Hiroaki had long been dead, and he didn't even remember what his mother's face looked like.

But then he thought of something as he took a bite of the cake that was their end to yesterday and their beginning to tomorrow. Being there with Hikari, even if he couldn't find the right words to tell her how he felt, was delicious. Like cake.

"There's nothing 'just' about it. Me and you are kind of forever. Daisuke too, but I'd rather not see him naked."

And it was just like that that he finally got a laugh out of Hikari. She was smiling, as was he, and Takeru couldn't help but feel the tiniest bit proud of himself.

He was about to make another joke about the situation, feeling that it was almost necessary, but stopped himself when he heard Hikari sigh again. He stayed silent, feeling that what she was about to bring up was something important, and his eyes widened when he heard what she was beginning to say.

"I love," was where Hikari stopped, both of them being frozen in the moment. The two of them were buddies who did things together that people who were more than buddies did, but were they ready for that? Were they ready to be more? "cake."

Normally, it was something he would have laughed at, but Takeru refrained from doing so when he saw how red Hikari's face was from embarrassment. He was glad to know that he wasn't the only one between the two of them that had insecurities or hesitation about whatever it was that they were, but after another moment of thought, there was something else that Takeru decided for himself then and there. He may have been an Ishida, a rat from what he thought was the only imperfection of Odaiba, but he wasn't the man his father was. He was Takeru, just like Hikari would always be Hikari.

With a smile on his face, knowing what the girl sitting next to him had wanted to say, Takeru gently nudged her.

"I love cake too."

* * *

Eric Forman, you're such a rascal.


	6. Good Day Sunshine

I'm back! This was already partially written, so when I finished the volunteer work I had signed up to do earlier in the morning, I had decided to come back and finish it.

Well, after playing a bit of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, of course. I've gotten all the 360 achievements in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (took me 198 hours), and only need two more achievements until I can officially "retire" Oblivion by finally completing it. Speaking of which, if any of you folks play on Xbox Live, add me. My gamertag is the same as my username.

Disclaimer: Don't own Digimon.

* * *

Hikari couldn't help but laugh as she blasted passed the local bakery near her apartment on her bicycle, comfortably ahead in distance from both Daisuke and Takeru. Roaring right by Yaharu-Sama, an old man who had always given the three of them candy as children and who had even offered Hikari a job in the maid cafe that his daughter operated, she yelled out a greeting towards the kind old man when she saw him wave to her.

Odaiba was a big city, large enough to where they hadn't yet been able to discover all the little treasures and adventures that were to be found in all the twist and turns of their modern urban world, but one of their favorite parts about it, even if the boys sometimes pretended to complain about her dragging them there, was a little shopping district that covered a small street that was located right on the other side of the park that the three of them usually frequented. It wasn't much, a bakery here and small bookstore there, but the people native to the little shopping district had always been lovely.

There was a time that Hikari remembered, back in the days when she still carried a whistle around her neck, where Takeru had stolen something from the small bookstore that she had just been thinking about. Officer Hida, a policeman who used to sometimes patrol the area back before he had died in the line of duty, was the one who had caught little Takeru who had not yet grown into his quicker and stronger body. Officer Hida had then taken Takeru back to the shop to apologize, and it was there where Iroha-sama, the always stern book-keep who had been somewhat of a frightening urban legend amongst the local children, had suggested Takeru work off the action instead of pressing charges against the little boy. Nine years later, and many unsuccessful attempts by Iroha-sama to set Takeru up with his granddaughter, the now teenaged Ishida was still working at The Yonder Side.

There was also that time where through a series of unfortunate events, ones that involved a goat and a soda truck, where a nine year old Daisuke had somehow ended up accidentally breaking both of Yaharu-sama's legs. Yaharu-sama had laughed about it at the time, and still looked back fondly on that year, and the kind old man had always thanked Daisuke for what had happened, saying that all the physical therapy that he needed gave him something to look forward to in the morning. That summer Daisuke declared himself Yaharu-sama's assistant, and the two of them had gotten into all sorts of wacky adventures. Though, that is a different tale for another day.

"Hikari!" Takeru's voice yelled out from behind, quickly approaching and quickly closing a bit of the distance between them.

She looked back at him, though not before making sure that everything in front of her was clear, and Hikari stuck her tongue out at him. He wasn't that far behind her, and after a few seconds she saw that Daisuke in turn wasn't that far behind Takeru, and she was determined to win this race. They were going best two out of three, or four depending on if she won, both Daisuke and Takeru having won the first two races respectively, and the prize was going to be deciding what movie that they would watch that night. If Daisuke won they would be watching the Japanese dubbed version of Die Hard again, Takeru's choice was seven episodes of the first season of Pokemon, but if Hikari had her way the three of them would curl up under a blanket with some nice hot chocolate and watch the uncut version of Battle Royale.

Putting her attention forward once again, Hikari set her eyes on the finish line. For their third race the three of them had decided on a streetlight that was the last thing that the shopping district had to offer before it eventually lead to their favorite park. It was under that streetlight where Hikari had had her first kiss, Daisuke also taking that opportunity to ask her to go out with him. He hadn't accepted the reason at the time for her rejecting him, back then Daisuke struggling with the same thing that her brother Taichi still sometimes had trouble with, but even then both of them had known that she wasn't the best friend that he was in love with.

Breathing heavily, she reached the streetlight and mentally patted herself on the back for her victory. Now watching as the boys were also making their way to the streetlight that always shone in the middle of the night whenever the three of them had decided to go on midnight adventures, there was something about the two of them riding together and laughing that she wasn't one hundred percent okay with.

They didn't have much farther to go before they reached her, in fact the two of them seemed to slow down a bit to catch some rest since they saw that Hikari had already won, and she took that moment to stretch a bit as she basked in the glory of her win. Even if she lost the next race, she'd have something to hold over their heads until their next competition.

"Where should the next race be to?" an almost passed out Takeru immediately questioned once the two of them had finally all reached the streetlight.

"How about the Wall?" Daisuke responded as he too similarly ignored that Hikari had just defeated them.

The Wall was something that didn't need any more explaining than that. It was an old concrete wall in the park ahead of them where Taichi and Yamato had apparently first met one another. Hikari smiled warmly at the thought of the Wall, it being a place where when they were younger, that Daisuke, Takeru, and herself would make up grand tales of important events in Japan happening there. It was silly, she knew that even now, but there was a sort of gratitude that she knew she would always have for that place. If isn't for that wall, that crossroad in the story of Yamato and Taichi, she knew that her own life would have been completely different. Had Takeru and Daisuke not been a part of it, she wasn't sure if said life would have even been worth having. Odaiba was pretty, but it was the two of them that it made it seem beautiful.

"How about it, Hikari?" Takeru asked when he turned to face her.

She didn't answer him, but instead began grinning and riding towards the park. The sun was shining.

* * *

Right now I'm watching Orange is the New Black on Netflix, and you guys should really try it out. It's a fantastic show. I mean, it's nowhere near the level of Breaking Bad or Oz, but it still is worth a watch.

I almost gave the shopping district here a name, but I wasn't able to find a list of real life Odaiba shopping districts. I mean, a lot of sites have Odaiba's big attractions on them, but nothing about the little stuff.

I feel that it's pretty righteous to have Takeru working in a bookstore. Damn, that's a whole story in and of itself.


	7. Lonesome Tears in My Eyes

For fun, I decided that this chapter and the next two are going to be a little different than the rest of them. For no reason in particular all these chapters are going to be 2k+ words instead of 1k+ words, and each one is going to be about each member of the trio having a conversation and relating to someone outside of their group, all people from the digiverse. I thought it could be neat to do. I like writing this story.

Disclaimer: Don't own Digimon.

* * *

If it were up to him he would show up to school late everyday, at the same time probably finding a way to drag Takeru into whatever hijinks that Odaiba had to offer, but fortunately and unfortunately, there was someone in their life named Hikari who made sure that they at least showed up to class for the start of it.

Daisuke was tired since he hadn't slept at all the previous night, and images of noir detectives wouldn't leave his thoughts. His father had been drunk and lonely, mostly drunk, and had made him keep him company while the two of them had gone with beach chairs to one of the red-light district's many unregulated parking lots, where some people had gotten a projector and had used it to cast a detective movie marathon against the wall of an abandoned building that had lasted the entire night. The movies had all been in black and white, the age of it all adding to its quaint charm, and for the most part he had actually enjoyed most of the movies. The problem had come when he had wanted to go to sleep, and when his father had given him the ultimatum for the night: keep him company and continue to watch the noir detective films, or don't go home that week.

He yawned as the three of them were walking to school, and looked over at the two teenagers who were always never that far from wherever he was. Knowing that he was much too tired for it, Takeru and Hikari were chatting amongst themselves, and Daisuke felt a twinge of jealously to see how well-rested the two of them looked. There were a lot of things that he would do at the moment for a nice bed to sleep on. Thinking on it, Daisuke thought that even a nice corner somewhere in the school would do, but he stopped thinking about that once he noticed that Inoue Miyako, school president, was waiting at the gates of the school.

He felt dejected about finding somewhere to sleep since in his experience, and as someone who had a reputation for being a delinquent he had a lot of said experience, the president was a bit of a hard ass. If he were to as she would put it, disrespect her school by cutting class and taking a nap, whatever she would do would be more annoying than anything that Fujiyama-Sensei could ever come up with. He yawned once more and prepared himself to quit walking since he figured that Hikari would want to stop and chat with fellow student council member, and he was a bit surprised when the president got a determined look in her eye when he walked into her line of vision, and when she immediately addressed him as soon as he could hear her.

"Motomiya, can I have a word with you?"

The three of them stopped walking, and shared glances with one another. Miyako seemed serious, she had a burning look in her eye, and Daisuke just nodded at Takeru and Hikari. He watched as the two them reluctantly walked off, and then he met eyes with the president. Oddly, he felt a bit less tired than he had before.

"This something serious, Prez?"

She looked around for a moment to see if there were many students left that still needed to get to class, and rested on the school gate when she felt satisfied that it was okay for her and Motomiya to talk.

"As serious as the cultural festival next month. Yagami-chan said that Ishida is good with his words, so I volunteered him to be in charge of a poetry contest. You have the choice of playing a key role in a sports tournament or a play."

He looked at her oddly, and rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. The cultural festival for the school didn't really seem like it was something that warranted such a serious atmosphere. Maybe it was his tired mind or all the detective films that his father had drunkenly forced him to watch as it projected against that empty and ever-dying building, but there was something telling Daisuke that there was more to the current scenario than what Miyako was saying.

"I think my class is doing like some haunted house or something."

"I'm not talking about a class activity here, Motomiya. This is school wide."

Casually, Daisuke shrugged. Miyako seemed a bit more determined to get him to agree to help with some of the school festivities than he would have assumed she would have. At first he figured that perhaps it might have had something to do with the president wanting to maintain a tighter control on the student body, but there was something telling him that his first instinct maybe wasn't the correct one. Perhaps it was the noir knowledge he had gained the previous night, but he doubted his original thought. If this was about Miyako being a stronger presence on those students who had been deemed to be delinquents, then she would have asked Takeru to stay behind as well. Still, school activities were something that had never actually interested him, so he decided that maybe it was best to just be as direct as he could be with the president.

"I'd like to help, really I would, but this whole festival thing is really more up Hikari's alley. Besides, me and Takeru already have our festival activities planned out. It's called getting drunk and sneaking into the girl's locker room to see what it's like."

With that, Miyako stood back up from the gate that she was leaning on, and crossed her arms as she began to stare him down. Daisuke easily saw the passion for life in her eyes that had won her the presidential election for student council, one that involved all the political intrigue and student honor that a high school in Japan could offer, and subconsciously he began to stand a little straighter. Miyako was challenging him, daring him to say no her.

"Like you of all people would be interested in whatever goes on in the girl's locker room."

For a second, his heart stopped. He looked around to see if any of the still entering students had heard anything, and then he looked back at Miyako. He wasn't exactly sure what she had meant by what she said, but this was the kind of talk that was dangerous. He wasn't sure if it was supposed to be a threat of some kind to make sure that he agreed to her demands, or if she was merely making a comment questioning the sincerity in his wanting to check out the girl's locker room. Of course, Miyako was in fact a friend of Hikari's, or at least they worked together on the student council enough to where they were amiable, but he still doubted that Hikari would go off and tell the president one of his darker secrets, especially when not even Takeru knew about it.

Hell, he hadn't even talked to Hikari about it, or Jun for that matter, but with the two of them he had always felt that it was something that remained unspoken. Like the shadow of danger and the quiet violence found in his father's favorite noir films, it had always been something that almost floated to the surface, forever being just short of bubbling up.

For Miyako to insinuate something about it, for her to possibly know when even he wasn't so sure of it himself, he didn't know what word to call it, but it was something that was much more worse than simply bothering him. He knew better than to show that it troubled him though, and he yawned once more, partially because he was tired and partially to show that her words, threat or no threat, didn't get to him.

"School activities and me don't really go hand in hand."

She raised an eyebrow and a bit of daring dimmed in her eyes when she saw that unlike almost any other guy would have, Daisuke didn't immediately take offense to her comment about the girl's locker room and move to defend himself. She said nothing more on it though, Daisuke's falsely nonchalant attitude saying enough.

"After school Fujiyama-Sensei was asking some girls from your class why you and Ishida went missing during the class period after lunch yesterday. He almost went to the principal with it since he said that he needs to put the two of you on a tighter leash. For your own good, of course."

Even though he didn't show it to the president, inwardly he sighed. Fujiyama-Sensei was always asking something or another about Takeru and himself. He knew that the man meant well, and that he had actually been a lot more buddy buddy with Yamato and Taichi back when they were in high school, but Fujiyama-Sensei had always expected more effort and more dedication than either of them were willing to give. Although, Daisuke did agree with the older man that Takeru actually had potential. If any of the rats that he knew had a chance of scurrying away from that familiar red light that always beckoned them home, he knew that Takeru was that rat.

"And?"

"I vouched for the two of you. I was right there when he was asking those girls, so I told him that you guys were on important school business for me during that period, and that I had forgotten to deliver notes from the principal saying that you could go. You and Ishida have started to see the errors of your ways, and you personally have even started thinking about joining the student council, despite the fact that most of them are afraid of you guys, or one of our sub-committees at least."

"This isn't the part where you blackmail me for sex is it?" he said, once he let what Miyako was saying sink in. He thought that maybe making light of the situation might have changed something perhaps, but Miyako wasn't asking him to do anything, she was telling him.

He didn't quite know what it was that she wanted, but what he did know for sure was that the president didn't wasn't giving him the option to say no. Was she like Fujiyama-Sensei? Did she maybe see some contrived form of potential in the two boys from rat-city?

"This isn't blackmail, Motomiya. It's called me looking out for you. You might not know it, but me and you are the same."

"How?"

"We," she paused at that moment, Daisuke not one hundred percent sure where she was going with it. She seemed to be considering something, and she was giving him a look that he didn't know what it was. At first he thought that it might have been pity, but there was a moment where her eyes sparkled just a bit, maybe from the sun or perhaps a tear or two that he knew the president would never allow herself to show, but it was with that that he finally recognized the way that she was staring at him. Understanding. "I've decided to watch out for you, okay? We start officially meeting for the festival in two weeks. I expect to see both you and Ishida there."

"Alright."

"And bring a treat for the council. It might seem like they don't like you, but they just want to keep Yagami-chan safe. Both of you scare most of them half to death. Poor Noriko-chan legitimately thought that Ishida was going to rape her when he bumped into her yesterday. The two of you are harmless, and melon bread or donuts go a long way to show that fact."

Not having anything else to say, Daisuke just nodded and agreed to comply with what Miyako told him to do. She gave a single professional nod back, and sighed as she started leaning against the gate again, this time also beginning to look up at the sky. Finally walking into the school gates, Daisuke almost stopped when he heard Miyako begin to hum behind him. She sounded happy and yet also somehow sad at the same time. She was humming the tune to the noir movie marathon from the night before.

* * *

It's come to my attention that this story is still showing up as Daisuke/Hikari when it is in fact nothing of the sort? Lame. Anyways, I've tried fixing it and on mobile mode, which is the one I use for pretty much everything, it showed the three characters, but on regular mode it didn't. I was thinking that maybe just not showing any of the characters would help to not give people the wrong impression since it says who the story is about in the description? Maybe label the story as about the chosen children instead?

P.S. That wall incident mentioned in the last chapter? I will be doing a one-shot showing what happened from a young Taichi's point of view. Chapter 13 in _**A Home at the End of Japan** _mentions the incident, but even there it doesn't actually show it.

P.P.S. Am I allowed to use people from the digiverse in this and my other story that aren't actually from the Adventure verse? Say I wanted to use a Tamers character since this is AU?

P.P.P.S. I need to know if sempai/kouhai is correct to use or senpai/kouhei for the next chapter.

P.P.P.P.S. Watch the Venture Bros. I always pimp that show whenever I can.


	8. Back in the USSR

I toyed with different ideas on who Takeru should have had a conversation with during this chapter, characters from Susumu to Ken, but in the end I decided to go with an extremely minor character from Adventure 02. She's a familiar blonde that you may remember from the international Chosen Children. Also, you might recognize the name Yamaki as well.

Disclaimer: Don't own Digimon.

* * *

"The asshole has been dead for years, and here he is still breaking my balls," Yamaki laughed as he opened the small safe that was under his desk, and pulled out the monthly envelope that he had always given to the Ishida boys ever since Hiroaki had been gunned down.

"I thought you weren't supposed to speak ill of the dead," Takeru replied as Yamaki handed him the envelope and as he then tucked the envelope into the inside of his jacket.

He had never liked picking up money from people who owed Hiroaki, particularly since Takeru didn't exactly have any idea as to why all these people actually owed his father money in the first place, and a lot of it in certain cases, and it was a thought that Yamato had always told him that perhaps it was better if he ignored it. Yamaki was a pimp and operated a not so official brothel, but other than that he genuinely seemed like a good person. At least he didn't hit his girls, or boys, as the case may be.

"We're all dead, Teeks," Yamaki said while reminiscing on the fact that the teenager in front of him wasn't the little boy anymore that he first remembered seeing when a then still alive Hiroaki first walked into his establishment with a business proposal that he wasn't able to refuse, "some of us just take longer to get there than others."

He nodded at Yamaki, and then Takeru turned and began to leave his office, giving a farewell wave other his shoulder. Considering the blonde hair, Takeru assumed that Yamaki also had foreign blood in him just like he did, but putting all that aside, he had always found the man's insistence on giving Yamato and himself money, Yamaki seeking them out whenever either of them took too long to pick up the monthly payment, to be nothing but strange. It wasn't often that he ran into someone that actually believed, despite the other rats of the district saying they did, in the old adage of honor among thieves.

Takeru took a step out of the hallway from Yamaki's office, passed the rooms that had beds in them for the 'comfort' of the brothel's patrons, and he looked around the room and couldn't help but frown. It was true that Yamaki treated his workers better than most other pimps did, something both he and his brother were surprised to later find out was something that Hiroaki had been adamant about, but that didn't stop Takeru from finding the whole thing to be rather distasteful if he had to be honest with himself. He recognized most of the faces there and smiled when they glanced his way as he began to walk passed them, but Takeru's heart couldn't help but reach out to them, especially considering that a good number of the workers there were even younger than he was.

As he walked out of the brothel, he took a deep breath of the cold night air, that little aspect being one of the most comforting and one of his most favorite things about Odaiba. He closed his eyes and took in the refreshing almost midnight wind, and stretched out his arms, while also making sure that the envelope tucked in the inside of his jacket wouldn't fall out. He felt a twinge of embarrassment and quickly composed himself when he heard the giggle of a teenage girl just off to the side of him.

"Having fun there, Teeks?" said teenaged girl asked while she laughed at Takeru's antics. She then smiled at him, happy that he was still a lot like that little kid that she always remembered him as.

Embarrassed, Takeru looked away for a second before awkwardly laughing. After a moment of composure, he looked back at the familiar girl who seemed as if she was waiting for someone just outside the brothel where she worked. He frowned for a second at the girl who shared the same blonde hair that he did considering her European roots when he thought about her line of work, particularly since she was a year younger than he was, but then he forced away the frown and smiled at her.

"I like to take comfort in the little things," Takeru sincerely replied before beginning to walk away, "take care of yourself, Anna."

He didn't get far before the girl started walking at his side, annoyed. "You can at least offer to walk a girl home, Ishida."

He looked over at Anna, her blonde hair almost as short as his was, and then he looked back at the brothel that the two of them were just leaving. Had he been going back home for the night, walking Anna back to where she lived would have been the opposite direction from where he needed to go, but he figured it'd be okay since he was already crashing at Daisuke's place that night. It'd be fine, as long as he didn't tell Hikari.

"I thought you were waiting for someone."

"I was waiting for you, Teeks."

He looked down for a moment, that not being something that he exactly wanted to hear, but then he remembered where he was and looked back up and forward. Fellow rats often didn't care when they picked the pockets of their brethren. "Well, you found me, Daughter Russia."

Anna laughed at the old nickname that he had come up with for her years ago when he had found out that the reason that she and her mother had blonde hair was because she was from Russia. It wasn't the most clever or creative thing to name her, but she still enjoyed it when Takeru called her that, the nickname losing some of its spark whenever anyone other than him used it. She did a little twirl, and felt that maybe it did what she was aiming for when she saw his eyes linger for a moment before he cast them off to the side. She didn't know if it was a blush that he had, maybe not, but it was a start.

"You want to come over tonight to catch up? It feels like forever since I last saw you," Anna asked tentatively, hinting that catching up meant much more than just catching up.

Ignoring the implication, Takeru decided it would be best to just let Anna know that he had plans for the evening. "Daisuke's expecting me."

She nodded in understanding and sighed in a wispy sort of tone. The two of them walked in silence for a while after that, though it wasn't exactly uncomfortable. Takeru rather liked Anna's company, although he knew that Hikari had never approved with him being alone with her. He debated whether or not it was going to be worth telling Hikari about the unexpected turn of events concerning Anna, but he was snapped out of his thoughts when he saw Anna make a wrong turn once they had gotten on the same street as her apartment.

"We're going the wrong way," Takeru stated simply, not one hundred percent positive on what Anna had in mind.

"You're taking me for a nice date at the park, Ishida. No arguments."

"Wonderful," he deadpanned, following the girl's lead since he didn't fancy the idea of her going alone to the rat hole, which was the nickname for the only park that was within the perimeters of the red-light district.

Anna laughed and figured it'd be fun to reprimand him. "Don't be all moody, Yamato-san."

He knew that he shouldn't have since that only encouraged her, but he couldn't help but chuckle at that one. Not because it was particularly funny or anything like that, but it reminded him of the fact that any time he even remotely acted like his brother usually did, no matter how minor it was, people would start calling him by his older brother's name.

"Trust me, I'm not Yamato. I'm less 'depressed about this doomed world filled with idiot people that I hate', and I'm more 'lovable rascal who can't help but get himself into playful trouble'."

Grinning wider than she had that whole entire week she laughed, again, and wrapped her arm around Takeru's. She felt him hesitate and struggle for bit, but after a moment he just gave in. "How do you do that, Teeks?"

"What?" he questioned, not quite sure what she meant.

"You can take anyone, even your brother, whose been down in the dumps for weeks, and by the time you're done with them you'll have us all grinning like crazy," she admitted, "It's kind of like magic to be honest."

He nodded and thought on that for a moment. He remembered that in one of his more drunker states, Yamato had said almost the exact same thing about him, and how that in particular was a quality that he shared with their mother. He had never known Natsuko, he only had maybe a handful of memories of the woman, but there was a part of him that was glad on that drunken night when he had learned that maybe he actually had something in common with the woman he doubted he would ever know.

"I tried that whole being a broody sex god with a dark and troubled past that has a hidden heart of gold, but that's really more Yamato's speed than mine."

When they came within sight of a bench that was placed just on the outskirts of the rat hole, Anna began to drag Takeru towards it, and once the two of them sat down she rested her head on his shoulder. "I don't know about everything else, but I'd say that you're a sex god. Even if it has been a while."

He tried picturing what Hikari would say were she there, and he felt a bit guilty that he wasn't more forceful with Anna as he should have been. He liked the girl well enough in spite of the times where in his more weaker moments, before he had begun that same kind of relationship with Hikari, where he gave in to the kinds of things that she wanted to do with him.

"I really should head off to Daisuke's," he trailed off, not feeling comfortable in the position that he was put into.

After a moment of silence, Anna grabbed on tighter to Takeru's arm and didn't move her head from Takeru's shoulder where it was resting. "Can we pretend that Hikari doesn't exist just for tonight, Senpai?"

Takeru hesitated for a second, but not having the heart to say no to the girl, he decided that it might have been best to change the topic. "Senpai?"

"I'm transferring to your school," Anna breathed out, almost in a sing-song sort of way, happy that Takeru seemed okay with spending time with her at the moment.

"I didn't think that Odaiba High would be the kind of place you'd want to be."

"Just because I'm a whore doesn't mean that I'm stupid."

"That's not what I meant."

Both were quiet for a minute, but then Anna sighed and nuzzled her head into Takeru. "Hikari will never understand you the same way that I do. She's going to go off to university, get a good job, find a great husband, and have a great life. She doesn't know the kind of life that both of us have had to have."

He remained silent while he thought, and then decided that he would later tell Hikari how his night had turned out, since he couldn't go back to the Yagamis and not feel guilty over how far he had let Anna take him. "Hikari says that she wants me to be there during all those things."

Like he had been, she was quiet before she replied. "You can take the rat out of the district, but that red light will never stop shining."

With that, neither of them could think of anything else to say. Instead, Takeru looked up at the Odaiba sky that had always been a warming thought to him throughout his life, but for some reason he couldn't help but frown. Perhaps, Anna was right.

* * *

I bet you were thinking that I was going to use Catherine, huh? Because everyone uses Catherine when it comes to Takeru. Anna is one of the Russian Chosen Children from the international episodes, and you can look her up if you're curious as to what she looks like.

Hikari will be meeting and talking to Iori next...just it might not be exactly what you guys are expecting.

Stay safe, folks.


	9. Dizzy Miss Lizzy

At the last minute I decided not to use Iori.

Disclaimer: Don't own Digimon.

* * *

It wasn't often that Hikari ever went shopping by herself, to Daisuke and Takeru's supposed dismay she usually dragged one or both of them with her whenever she needed to go buy something, but at the moment what she was buying was something that she didn't want either boy to see. Most people thought of her as the pure and innocent and adorable teenaged girl, even Takeru who was the main reason that she couldn't legitimately describe herself as being pure and innocent, and Hikari had been thinking of maybe adding a tiny bit of spice to her image. She didn't want anything too radical like changing her appearance or anything like that, but Hikari thought that if she got just one piece of 'sexy' clothing, then that would be enough to satisfy herself. As usual though, there was something that was distracting her as she shopped.

There was only one other person in the clothing store, besides the workers of course, and it was a younger girl who looked like she was having trouble picking out an accessory of some sort. Hikari could tell that the girl was definitely younger than she was, but not by that much. She thought, perhaps maybe a year a two? More likely the latter than the former.

There was something about the girl that intrigued Hikari, though she couldn't put her finger on exactly why. The young girl's hair was longer than hers was, and was a darker shade of brown as well, and Hikari felt the need to maybe go over and say hello to the poor girl when she saw that she was getting extremely fidgety with being unable to make her mind up about what accessory she wanted. She thought for a moment, figured that she was okay with remaining adorable over sexy, and then Hikari placed the shirt that she had been looking at back on the rack as she began to make her away across the store over to where the young girl was at.

Hikari knew better than to walk over there seemingly with a purpose, so instead she strolled over to the accessory station, right beside the younger girl whom for some reason that she couldn't name had fascinated her, and she peered into the case that was now in front of the both of them before she spoke nonchalantly, "Those earrings are cute."

The young girl looked over at Hikari for a moment, and then looked away, embarrassed. Once more she began fidgeting, and then took in a deep breath before she replied, "I think they're cute too."

Smiling, Hikari continued on as she tapped on the glass just above the earrings they were talking about, "How about you try them on then?"

The girl eyed Hikari suspiciously for a moment, unsure of where exactly she was going, until she shrugged and replied, "I've never had earrings before."

Hikari couldn't help but make a face at that. "Really?"

The girl nodded and then walked a few steps off to the side. For a second Hikari thought that she had weirded the girl out in some way or another by randomly striking up a conversation with her, but then she smiled again when she saw the girl grab two bracelets out of a nearby basket and hold them out to her.

"This one," the girl began asking as she dangled the brown bracelet in her left hand, "or this one?" she finished as she dangled the green one in her right.

Hikari grinned since she never really honestly had much when it came to having girl talk with anyone. Almost all of her time was always spent with Daisuke and Takeru who, were she not there to kick them into behaving better and having better hygiene, would live like barbarians if they could. It wasn't as if she wasn't friendly with girls in her class, but there were times where she thought that perhaps the person that they wanted to get more than friendly with was one of the 'bad boys' that she always hung out with. It was something that rather annoyed her, but didn't annoy her as much as it could because despite whatever inane rumor was going around about the two guys she never strayed too far from, the both of them were some of the dorkiest people that she knew.

"I say go with the green," Hikari announced brightly, "I think the brown is cuter, but guys love the color green. I think it reminds them of boogers or something."

The young girl made a disgusted face, obviously leaning towards getting the brown bracelet at the moment. "That sounds horrible."

"Trust me," Hikari reassured, "it might sound gross, but I know what I'm talking about. My kind of but not really boyfriend is a prime example of what I mean."

The girl looked like she was thinking hard for a second, and Hikari couldn't help but beam when she saw the girl drop the brown bracelet back into the basket. It felt nice to give another female some advice and to have them take it, even if Hikari didn't actually expect to have the opportunity to experience more of that. She had friends that were girls of course, but she also had those girls that were nice to her that were still rather sweet people if maybe a bit misguided, because they thought that they could maybe score a date with Takeru or Daisuke if they acted overly friendly to her. She had decided a long time ago that she wouldn't give up Takeru to anyone under any circumstance, and with Daisuke, well, Hikari doubted that he had any interest in any of those girls whatsoever, all things considered.

"I'm going to buy the green," the young girl softly stated.

Hikari nodded, glad that she had helped, "It might not be as nice looking as the brown, but green is the type of look that guys like." Hikari paused for a second before looking over at the earrings once more. "But if you want to be a real head turner then I say go for the earrings."

The girl frowned at that, and looked over at the case that had the earrings in them. She looked down for a moment, not happy with the thought that came in her mind, before she looked back up at Hikari. "Do you work here or something?"

Immediately, Hikari held up her hands in front of herself. "Oh no! I'm just saying that while you're already adorable, I think some nice earrings will make you super cute."

The girl smiled at that as she sighed in relief, happy that her suspicion had been wrong. She longingly looked back at the earrings in question for second before giving the reason on why she couldn't get them. "My mother wouldn't approve."

Hikari raised her eyebrow and stroked her not-bearded chin at that. "Is it okay if I ask why?"

That particular question caused the girl to stare at Hikari for a bit. She was considering something, her hands fidgeted with the green bracelet that Hikari had helped her pick out, and then she glanced around the room before finally resting her eyes on the older teen. "I'm not really-" the girl froze, not wanting to finish her statement. Instead, she gulped and cleared her throat, looked around the room once more since she wanted to avoid Hikari's eyes, and then began staring at the older girl's feet. "I'm supposed to not wear them."

Hikari would have been lying if she said that she didn't find the whole situation to be odd, it really was a rather curious factoid about the girl she had met in the clothing shop, but she decided to not press the issue any further. After thinking on it, it wasn't as if her own life was the epitome of normal after all. For one, she lived with one of her best friends that was her boyfriend but not really boyfriend at the same time, her other best friend was in a position that complicated it even more than it already was, her brother was out of the apartment and living with a girl in a Japan gay district that he had met on a train, and back at the apartment her brother's boyfriend but not really boyfriend, just like her own situation with said not really boyfriend's younger brother, was barely even seen back at home anymore. Honestly, not wearing earrings seemed downright ordinary in comparison.

"You want to grab some lunch?" Hikari finally said, breaking the silence and changing the topic. "It'll be on me since I'm making you buy that green bracelet."

The girl smiled and agreed, and after paying for said bracelet, Hikari having decided to postpone her mission of Operation: Sexy, the two of them made their way out of the store and over to the food area of the shopping plaza. They made small talk, mostly about the upcoming school festival to Odaiba High which the younger girl was looking forward to attending to scope out the school to see if she really wanted to maybe attend the following year. As they stepped into a burger place, neither girl interested in eating something more traditional, they quickly made their orders, nuggets and fries, and found a spot to sit and eat.

About halfway through the meal though, the younger girl set down one of the nuggets that she had been holding, and concentrated hard on fries in front of her. Randomly, she blurted out a question, "What is your boyfriend like?"

With a mouth full of french fries, Hikari quickly munched on them and swallowed. She wrapped her fingers around her soda and thought for a moment before replying. "He isn't really my boyfriend."

"I would still like to know what he's like," the girl pressed on.

Hikari took a deep sip of her drink, and sighed tiredly. She wasn't sure if she believed in that sort of thing, but she didn't want to jinx her relationship with him. "Takeru is a really kind person. He's funny too, and handsome. Sometimes he can be an ass, but whenever he realizes it he goes marching off right that second to right whatever wrong he feels he did. Even if he says that he's not, he's actually pretty noble as well, and no matter what, he has a good heart," she paused for a second, before as an afterthought adding, "but now that you mention it, all those kind of apply to Daisuke as well."

"Daisuke?"

Hikari couldn't help but smile there. "The other love of my life."

The girl only blinked, not sure how exactly to respond.

Hikari giggled at that. "I'm not dating Daisuke at all if that's what you were thinking. I'm not exactly his type."

"Oh."

The young girl looked like she had no idea how to continue the conversation from there, so Hikari shrugged, popped a chicken nugget into her mouth, and figured that she might as well carry on from there. "Takeru once joked that if I was somehow trapped in some alternate dimension, that he'd even jump off a cliff to come and save me. Honesty, I was never exactly sure what that would accomplish other than getting him killed, but it's still a sweet gesture I think, even if he was just joking."

The younger girl chuckled at time right along with Hikari before her eyes shot open in realization, and she stood up. Hikari watched as the girl stood and bowed, at the same time the girl grabbed on top of her own head as if to keep something from falling off, and then she began to apologize.

"I'm sorry," the girl announced quite loudly, getting the other patrons of the burger shop to look over, "I never got your name."

Hikari looked fondly at the girl, since most of her time was around two guys who almost never remembered their proper formalities. "My name is Hikari."

The girl raised her head and almost hopped right where she was standing as she began to beam. "My name is Iori."

* * *

...I lied.

Here's to you, Adam. We'll pour some out for you, brother. It was an honor to have seen you in action.


	10. If I fell

I had the random urge to write, and boom! Here it is.

Disclaimer: Don't own Digimon.

P.S. I just want to say thanks to all you guys who are out there reading, and especially to those who take their time to review. You dudes, and dudettes, are awesome!

* * *

Throughout his life he had heard people talking about aspirations and hopes of going to places like Paris or New York, cities where love was born and where dreams came true, but as he stared at the Odaiba lights that night from the ever faithful Yagami balcony, Daisuke felt as if he was in the only city that would ever be able to shine that brightly in his eyes. Some people had Rome, others had the cobblestones of London, but the three of them, his true companions and himself, they had Odaiba. They may not have had famous museums or stages where dreamers performed their art, but they had each other, as corny as that sounded.

"What would do if I was interested in someone?" Daisuke asked, breaking the silence as the three of them were sitting out on that concrete balcony that their older siblings had claimed for themselves years ago. Since Taichi had left it wasn't a place that was used much anymore, except by Yamato on his more lonelier nights.

Each of them had a beer in their hand, Takeru and himself were on their third while Hikari was halfway done with her first, and he kept his eyes off of his friends, not quite sure that he wanted to actually hear what they had to say. He stared out into the city, for a moment he was curious on how many people were staring right back in his direction without even knowing it, but after a deep breath, and a chug of beer for confidence, he glanced back over at his two friends.

Hikari was looking down at the concrete, refusing to meet anyone's eyes, and Daisuke sighed since he knew exactly why she was doing that. He considered for a second asking if she was okay, but decided not to since they weren't alone at the moment. Next, he looked over at Takeru to see what his reaction would be, and couldn't help but feel a bit disheartened when he saw his compatriot grinning.

"What's this?" Takeru laughed while raising his beer in the air, "is our Daisuke finally in love with a girl?"

He pretended to laugh along with Takeru, and couldn't help but notice that Hikari wasn't laughing with them. He leaned back into the wall behind him, glanced over at Hikari and Takeru who were sitting a tad too close to one another a few feet away from him, and he then averted his eyes and decided to answer honestly. "No, I'm not in love with a girl."

It wasn't the complete truth, though it wasn't a lie, but Daisuke still felt that he couldn't just go out and announce it to the world, and he couldn't just tell his best friends. Taichi had always been his hero when he was a kid and growing up, had been his master when it came to showing him the way of the athlete warrior, but it was in this particular regard that Daisuke couldn't help but feel a bit of reverence for Ishida Yamato. Yamato may not have been the kind of person to broadcast his personal life or intimate details of whatever went on in his days, but Yamato never hid who he was and he was never ashamed of it either. It was a fact about Yamato that Yamato had never thought of as important, but to Daisuke, to a world filled with young people who were going through the exact same situation, it was a symbol that they could do it too, that they could be proud.

Takeru's eyebrows furrowed in confusion as he lowered his drink, and then he looked over at Hikari to see that she was looking down into her beer, taking a tiny sip here and there. He wasn't sure what to make of it, and frowned, thinking that maybe his friends were hiding something from him. "Is there something up that I should know, man?"

Daisuke opened his mouth to say something, but then stopped when he saw Hikari finally look back up. Her eyes were glistening, just a bit, and he couldn't stop himself from looking away once more. He wished he could think of a more poetic way to say it, he knew that Takeru would have been able to, but the sky was kind of beautiful that night. He felt that it was true that 'beautiful' might have been a cop-out word to use, pick-up artists using it as their main weapon in their arsenal which just went on to prove exactly that, but it was the word that came to his mind when he went back to staring out at Odaiba. It took his mind off things. He didn't want Hikari to hate him.

"I've been thinking of asking someone out," Daisuke lied, watching the shining Odaiba lights all the while.

"I think you should ask her out," Hikari immediately said, not giving Takeru the option to interject and give his opinion.

Daisuke turned to look back at Hikari and looked into her eyes, and it then that he knew that she was asking something of him rather than telling him to do something. He took another chug of beer to give himself that hazy strength that only came with drunkenness. "Do you think I should, Ishida?"

Takeru only grinned and raised his beer once again. "Whatever you do, I love ya, man."

Daisuke smiled, and then turned once more out towards the city. He had often heard dreamy wisps of Paris or Rome, songs of New York and London always fluttered around the hearts of the young and the restless, but to Daisuke, and to the two people he held close to his heart, he knew that their place wasn't in any city other than Odaiba. His home wasn't any farther than the end of the street.

He looked back Takeru and raised his own beer in response, hoping all the while that none of them would ever have their hearts broken. "I love you too."

* * *

I'm actually pretty proud of this chapter, which isn't something that I say very often. For some reason I got the feeling that I really wanted to update this tonight, and I'm glad that I did.

I also figured that I could use this time to also pitch a future story idea I had for something much more lighthearted. It'd be about Hikari dealing with her annoying mother-in-law, Takaishi Natsuko, and the fact that she married a momma's boy. Something like that.


	11. Come And Get It

I figured that after the last chapter that we could use something more light. This is me testing out Chromate's more 'animesque' style to see if I'm any good at it. If not, sorry.

One of my favorite scenes of the series was when Takeru beat up Ken.

Disclaimer: Don't own Digimon.

P.S. As of the last update this story has reached 50 reviews! Thanks for that, you guys. All the feedback helps me feel like you guys are reading, and it is humbling to think that you guys actually care about what I write. I couldn't do this without you.

* * *

Takeru had no idea whatsoever on why in the world Daisuke would sign the both of them up to join the festival committee of all things, and he at that moment was having a hard time trying to keep himself from looking bored. Despite efforts by Hikari and surprisingly President Miyako who had suddenly become buddy-buddy with Daisuke in the past few weeks, the both of them hadn't received the most warm welcome from the rest of the committee or from the student council. Daisuke had suggested that the two them should have brought cake to their first meeting, and they had, but that didn't stop most of the student council from still being wary of them.

It was something that Takeru had shrugged off though, but even so, and even as the teen genius Ichijouji Ken, president of one of their rival schools aptly named Tamachi Academy, spoke, Takeru couldn't bring himself to look at all interested. Ken was busy giving an impassioned speech on joining forces with Odaiba High to make the school festival the best that it could be, and out of everyone in the room the only people who Takeru noted that didn't seem to be all that bought by his rousing speech were: himself, Daisuke who had spent the whole meeting doodling, Hikari who sat at attention but with a frown on her face, and surprisingly enough his own president Miyako who had an eyebrow raised in skepticism the entire time.

Takeru rolled his eyes once Ken took a deep breath as he started proclaiming the virtues of courage and self-esteem, but then the entire room froze, including the teen genius, when the sound of a phone going off filled the room. After almost dozing off right then, Takeru realized that the phone that was going off was his own. He quickly moved to mute it, and decided to check who it was that had called him later at a more appropriate time.

"Sorry, man," Takeru sincerely apologized to Ken, "I'll make sure to turn it off now."

Instead of accepting the apology, Ken shut his mouth and put his arms behind him as he began strolling dramatically around the room. Two of Ken's fellow student council members, one the son of a wealthy businessman and the other the son of the owner of a chain of flower shops who may or may not have had Yakuza connections, both stood up. The son of the businessman was the one who spoke. "President Ichijouji, you have to go with what the traditions of our Academy demands."

Ken stopped, pondering for a moment as he moved one of his hands to stroke his chin, before he turned and looked at the Odaiba High president. "Madame President," he began as he got Miyako's attention, "what is the name of that student?" he pointed at Takeru.

Takeru frowned since the rich boys from Tamachi Academy seemed to be making a big deal out of something that, although he agreed that it was admittedly rude, was ultimately something that didn't really matter. Thankfully, Miyako seemed just as perplexed by the whole situation as he was.

"That's Ishida, Ishida Takeru, and he already apologized for his rudeness. Can you continue with the speech you wanted to show us today?"

Takeru rolled his eyes again, something he tried to limit himself to only doing once per day, when he saw Ken walk towards the main window of the room and as the teen genius stared off wistfully into the distance.

President Ken sighed, still staring off into the horizon. "I see that I have no choice," Ken spoke with a regretful tone in his voice before he turned around and accusingly pointed a finger at Takeru. "I challenge you, Ishida Takeru. You and I will battle to the death, with the honor of our schools as the prize."

In response Takeru stared right back with widened eyes, before he burst out into laughter. "I didn't know you student council folks were so hardcore. If I had known you guys were like this, I would have joined with Hikari on day one."

Takeru continued to laugh until Hikari elbowed him in the ribs for acting so familiar in front of complete strangers. Takeru then shared a glance with Daisuke, and it was then that both of them started laughing right then and there.

"If you're planning on killing one of my fellow students," Miyako piped in since she saw that the conversation was going nowhere, "I think I'm going to have to ask you to leave the campus."

Ken pouted. "I didn't mean an actual duel to the death. It's just a metaphor and that's how all us Academy people issue our challenges. I just mean that I want to challenge his honor and the honor of your school. It can be anything, like a chess game, bare knuckle boxing, a children's card game, whatever."

Miyako looked quizzically at Ken, before sending a glance over at Takeru. "You up for this, Ishida?"

Takeru bit the inside of his cheek, and then narrowed his eyes at Ken. "I dunno..." he trailed off.

Furious, Ken stepped forward immediately. "I demand satisfaction!"

Daisuke, ever the twelve year old boy on the inside, snickered and giggled at the demand. "Satisfaction? So what, you want Takeru to bang you?"

Even some of the more straight-laced members of the Odaiba High Student Council chuckled at that one. Takeru on the other hand, having had enough of what was supposed to be an ordinary festival planning meeting turning into the whole debacle that it was, stood up and walked across the room to meet Ken face to face.

He had been surprised that Miyako had sided with him, and Takeru nodded in her direction to acknowledge his gratitude before he looked back at Ken. "I accept your challenge."

Ken meaningfully took a step to meet Takeru almost nose to nose. "What are your terms?"

"You said you wanted a duel, didn't you? Let's dance."

Ken smirked. "You do know that I'm a black belt, right?"

Takeru smirked back. "I was counting on it."

* * *

So yeah, I'm gonna have them fight!

I enjoyed this less serious chapter and had a lot of fun with this.


	12. March of the Meanies

What happens in this chapter will be playing a bigger role somewhere down the line. Maybe. I don't know.

Disclaimer: Don't own Digimon.

* * *

She laughed as she walked with her friends to the locker room, the other girls who were with her were either cheerleaders or going to be on the school's dance team, most of them both. The dance team hadn't officially started to meet, which Hikari was glad for considering she still had to take care of her student council duties and her role as a member of the school festival committee, and she knew that both cheerleading and the dance team were going to stretch the amount of free time that she had for herself. She pushed it out of her mind though, promising herself that she would have the time to deal with it once she stepped towards that bridge. She laughed at one of the jokes her friend Nene said, even though it wasn't as witty as what Takeru would have jested or as charmingly low-brow as whatever Daisuke could have come up with, but it was funny enough as it was.

A problem that Hikari had always had was that she had sometimes held people up to the standards of Takeru and Daisuke, which as time went on she tried her best to reign in her expectations. Both of her best friends were wonderful and lovely people, the loveliest in all of Japan Hikari thought whenever she was in a more light mood, and even though she had a lot of friends outside of the two of them and even though she was very sociable with others as well, she had never met any other people who had ever shined as brightly as did her favorite two delinquents. She most definitely enjoyed the time she spent with the other cheerleaders of her school, and she was looking forward to when the dance team was starting up as well, but none these other girls held a candle to what Hikari thought of her two soul mates.

A moment later as they walked the halls of the school another girl made a joke, this time one that playfully poked fun at the favorite food of one of the other dancers, but they all stopped in their tracks and became silent when they saw President Miyako standing at the door that led into the locker room.

"Yagami," the president stated forcefully, never being one for small talk since that was a waste of time, "can we talk?"

Hikari didn't make a sound, trying to remember if Miyako and her had something to discuss that was important enough for her to go and track her down after dance practice. She bit her lip, and gave up trying to come up with a reason. "Can it wait until I get dressed?"

Miyako shrugged as she stepped out of the way of the locker entrance, but she continued to speak. "I have no problem waiting, but I'm not sure if you're going to have one since this has to deal with Ishida."

Hikari looked at the other dance girls, each of whom who had a worried expression on their faces because even though Takeru was a bit rough around the edges he had always seemed like a swell guy to them, and Hikari nodded to the girls to let them know that she would be alright. When she watched them go into the locker room, she turned her attention to the madame president.

She grabbed on tightly to the strap of her sports bag, and then she raised an eyebrow at Miyako, not quite sure what the president was getting at. "Since when does Takeru's business matter to you?"

Miyako scoffed. "Since I made a promise to Motomiya."

Hikari fidgeted for a second, wondering why Miyako and Daisuke had seemingly become friends within the past month. Hell, she even invited Daisuke to join a school committee for crying out loud! Had she not known of Daisuke's preferences, she would have thought that the two of them were maybe hooking up behind everyone else's back.

She was still suspicious, but after a moment just sighed and figured it was worth hearing Miyako out if it had to do with one of her friends. "What about Takeru?"

Miyako looked over her shoulders to see if there was anyone else in the hallway, and after making sure that everything was okay she felt that it was fine to talk. "Are you and Ishida like brother and sister, or what? Because I'm pretty sure that what you guys are doing is incest."

Immediately, Hikari crossed her arms and lost the normal happy-go-lucky Pollyanna attitude that she had with most people. "What me and Takeru decide to do or not do isn't any of your business."

Ignoring Hikari's aversion to the topic, Miyako pressed on. "It is when the two of you decide to have sex on my campus."

"What are you talking about?!"

This time it was Miyako who looked suspiciously at the other girl, Hikari's reaction of incredulity seeming genuine. She thought for a second, and studied her surroundings once more to make sure no one else was in the hallway at the moment. "Are you and Takeru having sex on school grounds?"

Hikari made a digusted face, not sure why anyone would ever want to do something like that at school. "Of course not! Are you insane?"

"I want you to give me your word." Miyako leaned in towards Hikari. "Honor among thieves and all that."

She rubbed her hands in her face, not believing that she even had to give her word about something so ridiculous. "You have my word that I'm not sleeping with Takeru on school grounds."

Miyako paced back and forth for a minute, before stopping and nodding her head at Hikari. "Alright, I believe you."

"Why would you even think that?" Hikari finally asked after she breathed out a sigh of relief.

At first Miyako didn't say anything, and walked over to the window of the hallway they were in, still debating whether or not to tell Hikari about what had happened, though in the end the president decided that Yagami deserved to know. "Somebody filed a complaint against you in the school office. They said they saw you and Ishida having sex on campus."

"Who was it?"

"I don't know."

Hikari frowned at that, and joined Miyako at the window. "Why would somebody even do that?"

The older girl didn't even look at her underclassmen. "Because you have an enemy."

* * *

Not sure how I felt about this one. This chapter felt like a dud. Anyways, any of you guys got a good idea for the next chapter? I'm to listen, remember that.


	13. Rocky Raccoon

I suggest listening to all the Beatles songs that make up each chapter title. The Beatles are never a bad bet when it comes to listening to.

Disclaimer: Don't own Digimon.

* * *

Daisuke said nothing as he watched an already bloodied Takeru take one punch and then another, and he still remained silent as Takeru landed backwards from a solid hit to the jaw, only to have his opponent move quickly on him and press the heel of his foot against the blonde teen's throat.

Daisuke didn't move a muscle, and only breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Takeru tap out, and when his opponent relaxed and gave the guy some breathing room. It wasn't very comfortable to watch, he was glad Hikari or Yamato weren't there because they wouldn't have been able to remain as passive as he had been, and Daisuke stood up from the bench in the gym that he was sitting at, put out his cigarette on the old wood of champions as the gym owner was fond of saying, and then walked over to go help out his fallen comrade.

"You feeling alright, Ishida?" Daisuke asked as he held out a hand towards his fallen brother.

Groaning in pain, Takeru could barely grab hold. "What do you think? I got my ass kicked."

The victor of the fight only laughed as he picked up his bottle of whiskey that he had rested near where the fight had been held, and Daisuke just watched his father for a moment. Motomiya Jun'ichi, or Jun for short, was a champion boxer in his glory days and he had doubted even before the fight had started that Takeru would have been able to do much to the man. Still, he hadn't expected his father to beat on Takeru like he had, bloodying the teenager and bruising him, something which the Yagamis would no doubt ask about later.

Jun smirked as, whiskey still in hand, he broke into Daisuke helping up Takeru so that he could kick Takeru in the stomach, and then once more to get him on the ground. Once the teenager was in that position, the man began circling the blonde. "Ichijouji will not let you tap, and he will not let you walk. He will beat on you until you got nothing left in you but water, boy, and if he has his way he won't let you leave until you shit yourself in front of that pretty little Yagami girl who I'm pretty sure you're tapping."

Daisuke was about to say something and opened his mouth to stop his father to just give Takeru a rest, but Jun raised one finger at Daisuke and continued with his speech. "And that's why you will have to be cruel to Ichijouji, and through your cruelty he will know who you are. And the Tamachi Academy will find the evidence of your cruelty in the disemboweled, dismembered, and disfigured body and face of their brother you leave behind. And the Academy won't not be able to help themselves but to imagine the cruelty their brother endured at your hands, and your knees, and the edge of your knife. And the Academy will be sickened by you, and the Academy will talk about you, and the Academy will fear you. And when the students of that Academy close their eyes at night and they're tortured by their subconscious for the evil they have done, it will be with thoughts of you that they are tortured with. Sound good, Takeru?"

Takeru only groaned at first. "What it sounds like is that you ripped off some movie."

Jun just laughed and gave Takeru another kick. It was enough for Daisuke since anything more and the guy might have to go to the hospital. He stepped forward to his dad, and then stared him down for a moment. The champ quirked an eyebrow before he just shrugged and stepped away from the broken teenager who was lying on the ground. Daisuke bent down and helped Takeru get a tired arm over his shoulder before he slowly and cautiously helped his friend up, careful not to move too quickly so as not to hurt any of the more internally damaged stuff.

With that, Daisuke slowly walked Takeru over to the bench he had been sitting at earlier and when they reached it, he helped him sit down. It wasn't doing much of anything considering the bloody face, but at least it was something. Once they were settled, Daisuke looked up at his father who had since then walked over to them.

"I thought you said you were going to go easy on him."

"I did," his father replied honestly.

Daisuke said nothing else and shook his head, but then felt the need to speak up once more when Jun'ichi held out his bottle of whiskey to the two of them. Daisuke shook his head again to decline, and Takeru did the same thing.

"Susumu and Yuuko are already going to be pissed at how I look," the battered Takeru explained, "so I can't show up at the apartment with booze on my breath."

Jun'ichi frowned. "So what? If Yagami has a problem he can come back here and I can beat the shit out of him again."

In the past Susumu had confronted Jun'ichi more than once about the way he interacted with Daisuke and Takeru, and Daisuke remembered the dislocated jaw that Susumu had received on the last time that the man had tried to intervene and talk to Jun'ichi about his treatment of the Motomiya siblings and the Ishida brothers. Susumu was a good man and Daisuke didn't want to see him get hurt again, and when he felt Takeru stiffen, he knew that Takeru felt the same way.

Deciding it was best to maybe change the subject, he spoke up to his father. "How about we finish for tonight, Dad? We train fresh tomorrow."

He watched as the man was about to protest, but then oddly enough his father just stopped and jerked his head to the side to motion to Daisuke to move over. Daisuke made sure that the other teen was okay sitting up on his own, and complied to what the champ wanted him to do. With space between Takeru and himself, Jun'ichi plopped right in between the both of them, taking a long drink of his whiskey all the while. It was a wonder that Jun'ichi could even walk on account of the fact that he smelled like a brewery at all times.

"Well then," the champ announced as he wrapped an arm around each of the boys, "that 100,000 yen is ours!"

"Old man," Daisuke slowly replied, "there's no money on the line. This fight is just about honor."

Jun'ichi paused or moment, and then laughed once more, letting his whiskey dream take him farther than he had intended that night. "That honor is ours!"

* * *

The fight is the next chapter, and the funeral is the one after that. Lmao, we'll see what Hikari has to say about the outcome of the fight, eh?

Anyways, I just wanted to say that I find it awkward giving names to Digimon parents that don't have names in canon, so I just went with Jun'ichi, whom his daughter Jun was most likely named after.


End file.
